Archive for November, 2010

It is a disgusting story. Let us begin it in lighter vein. ‘2G’ seems a highly popular name today. Type ‘2G’ in Google search, you will get 55.3 million results in 0.12 seconds! In Google terms, ‘2G’ is 29 times more popular than Shah Rukh Khan; 17 times as popular as Rajnikanth. It is equally as infamous, being the largest scam ever — Rs1.76 lakh crore loot. About something so famous, and at once infamous, the whole nation is asking Manmohan Singh one question: Mr Prime Minister what do you know about ‘2G’? Even as the PM is totally silent, here comes an SMS to all cell phones. ‘The PM finally breaks his silence and says: “The only ‘2G’ I know are: ‘SoniaG and RahulG’.’ Laughing? Here is something to cry about.

On November 24, 2010, ‘SoniaG’ certified, “Manmohan Singh is more than 100 per cent honest”. The next day, she proclaimed her ‘zero tolerance’ to corruption. What a tragedy? Certificate of probity from Sonia to Singh! Could anything be more humiliating? For, only five years ago, Manmohan Singh had saved her from the Bofors scam by calling back the red corner notice against her Italian friend Ottavio Quattrocchi (Q), recipient of a third of the pay-off from Bofors. Here is that shameful story in brief. Sten Lindstorm, who was the head of the National Investigation Bureau, equal to the CBI here, had probed the Bofors pay-off in Sweden. He told Outlook (April 6, 1998) that Sonia must explain how the companies owned by Q got fat payoffs from Bofors; what was her nexus with Q; who introduced him to Bofors. Lindstorm said that Q got Bofors payoffs was confirmed. Six years later on April 8, 2004, he wrote that Sonia must be questioned on the scam, asserting, “I know what I am saying”.

The diary of Martin Ardbo, managing director of Bofors and the bribe giver, had mentioned his meeting with “Gandhi Trust lawyer”. Finally Q, who came to India long back virtually as Sonia’s baggage from Italy, behaved exactly like a thief when proof against him emerged; he slipped away from India in 1993, thanks to P V Narasimha Rao yielding to pressure from Sonia. In 1999, Sonia defended Q, pleaded he was innocent; she alleged that the NDA government was hounding him. Ten years later Singh chided his own government for harassing Q. Sonia protected the corrupt Q; Singh allowed him to escape prosecution. And Sonia, a suspect in Bofors bribery, is now the president of the Congress, and chairperson of the National Advisory Council. She condescends to certify Singh’s honesty and shamelessly proclaims that she is zero tolerant to corruption. Isn’t it a double tragedy?

Tsunami of scams

A tsunami of scams in quick succession in recent months has swamped the public domain. First of course is the ‘Raja of Scams’, the 2G Spectrum sale involving a loot of Rs 1,76,000 crore; second, how intriguingly the prime minister, now certified by the Bofors scam suspect as ‘Mr Clean’, silently first and openly later, allowed the scamsters to loot that national asset; third, how the ‘Mr. Clean’ PM sat on Subramanian Swamy’s plea to prosecute A Raja for the scam and is now hiding in legalisms to escape the blame for the delay; fourth, the transcript of the tele-conversation of the high profile PR executive Niira Radia, in which not just the politicians, but many media stars and business magnates stand naked in public for different things, including for having lobbied to make Raja telecom minister; fifth, the Commonwealth Games fraud involving Rs 8,000 crore; sixth, the Adarsh housing scam involving some Rs 600 crore. The gross value of the three loots touches almost Rs1.85 lakh crore, equal to 18.5 per cent of the national budget. Here is a sideshow, the Yeddyurappa scam. Compared to the dacoits who have looted almost Rs1.85 lakh crore, Yeddyurappa, like a frightened pickpocket who when caught, has returned the purse — the land permits — he had picked. Yet, his corruption, though petty in comparison, does make the BJP guilty of moral deficit; he has helped the Rs1.85 lakh crore-loot-accused Congress to accuse the BJP.

Fraudulent policy

The first four items relate to the 2G Scam. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) estimates the 2G loot at between `67,000 crore and `1,76,000 crore. That the public lost heavily by the 2G Spectrum loot was evident on day one. Spectrum is the electromagnetic wave through which the wireless calls, SMSes and data travel from one phone or computer to another. Fraud inhered in the very policy to make spectrum available in 2008 at the price set for it in 2001.

What does selling the spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices mean?

It is not just the inflation difference for eight years. It is like selling land in 2008 in a city (that has also grown 100 times since) at 2001 land prices. In 2008 alone the real estate stock prices rose, believe it, by 20 times. The only reason that Raja cited for this throwaway pricing was that, in 2003, the NDA government did it at 2001 prices. Look at the comparative facts, then and now. In 2003, only five out of 1,000 Indians owned a phone, globally among the lowest; the total telephone owners were 13 million; and telecom companies, in dead losses till 2006, needed support. But, between 2003 and 2008, the picture changed dramatically. The phone owning population grew by 14 times; telephone owners per thousand population by more than four and half times; telecom revenue by almost four times; telcos stock index by 4.4 times; market capitalisation of telcos by several times. The number of total cell owners was 3 million in 2001; 13 million in 2003, 180 million in 2000; now it is 688 million, 53 times more than in 2003; phone owners per thousand population rose from 3.6 in 2001 to 5 in 2003, and to over 22 in 2008; now it is over 58; Telcos’ revenue rose from Rs 48,000 crore in 2003 to 1,69,000 crore in 2008.

These data mean that the profit earning potential of spectrum was several times more in 2008, as compared to 2001. Again, the Indian mobile phone sector grew even faster after 2008. Since 2004 it was, even now it is, the fastest growing one in the world. It now adds every month 20 million phone connections; this is seven times the total all India connections of just 3 million in 2001. There is huge prosperity ahead too. The mobile phone subscriber base is expected to go up to 993 million by 2013. It needs no seer to say that selling licences in 2008 at 2001 prices was like selling gold in 2008, which will become diamond in 2013, at coal prices in 2001.

PM objects, acquiesces, defends

In September 2007, Raja announced policy to sell new mobile licences/spectrum at 2001 prices. On September 24, he announced that the cut-off date for new applications would be October 1; 575 applications were received by October 1. But a week later, on November 2, Raja stipulated that the applications received after September 25 would not be considered; that is retrospectively the cut-off date was advanced to September 25. Then, after 100 days, suddenly, at 2.30 pm on January 10, Raja announced that those who had filed their applications before September 25, could depute their representatives by 3.30 pm, that is, within 45 minutes, to collect the response and before the day ended, pay for spectrum on First Come First Served (FCFS) basis. There were skirmishes at the DoT office on January 10 to be first in the queue. This process disqualified 454 of the total of 575 applications. But, the chosen ones knew what would happen on January 10. The CAG report says, “13 applicants were ready with DDs drawn on dates prior to the notification itself” — a clear proof that they had prior information.

As the deal began to stink even earlier, in November 2007 the PM, though a month after September 24, objected to the Raja model and asked him to be transparent. Raja responded to him, within hours, insisting that he was only going by the policy (of the previous government) in force. The PM took one whole month and on January 3, 2008, he, quite intriguingly, just ‘acknowledged’ Raja’s letter — virtually giving a go-ahead to Raja. On January 10, Raja completed his fraudulent mission. But the story doesn’t end.

Finally, 15 months later, on May 24, 2010, the PM admitted that Raja had told him that he was only following the policy laid down previously — virtually approving the fraud. It needs no seer to say that to say the loot was no secret affair. It was daylight robbery; as transparent as the PM had wanted it to be. Not just Raja, the PM also must be questioned on why he objected first; why he fell into silence later; why he acquiesced subsequently and why he defended it finally.

Stench out in three ways

The stench of the scam began leaking out in three different ways. First, even before the licences were issued in January 2008, one of the aspirants for all India licence, STel Limited, made an offer to Raja in November 2007 to pay Rs13,621 crore for the licence which Raja was selling at Rs1,658 crore — that is almost nine times the 2001 price. When its offer was rejected, STel moved the Delhi High Court, which allowed its petition. Then Raja’s ministry appealed to the Supreme Court. At that point, under threats, STel owners backed off from the case. But they had set the benchmark. On the basis of STel’s offer the CAG has estimated the loss to the public at Rs 67,300 crore.

Second, two of the new players — Unitech and Swan — who got licences on FCFS basis, sold off a major chunk of shares in their companies at values which were many times the amount they had paid for the licences. Unitech, which had paid a licence fee of Rs1,658 crore, sold 67 per cent of its licence for Rs 6,120 crore; this meant that the full licence value was Rs 9,100 crore. Swan, which had paid Rs 1,537 crore, sold 44.7 per cent of the licence at Rs 3,217 crore; it meant that its licence value was Rs 7,192 crore. STel, which got small licences by paying Rs 25 crore, sold 5.61 per cent of its licence for Rs 238.5 crore; it meant that the value of its licences was Rs 4,251 crore. On the basis of these sales of licences the CAG has calculated the loss at between Rs 57,600 and 69,300 crore.

Third, on the basis of the value realised by the government by auctioning of the licences/spectrum for 3G telephony, the CAG has computed the loss in the sale of 2G licences at 2001 rates, without bidding process, at Rs1,76,645 crore. It is the CAG report that has made the stench unbearable. It came just before the Parliament Winter Session was to open. The opposition got a full toss to hit, which it promptly did. The Parliament has become dysfunctional.

What, who made PM U-turn?

The 2G loot took place in the open, to the view of all including ‘Mr Clean’ Singh and zero-corruption-tolerant Sonia. When CBI raided Raja’s ministry on October 28, 2009, and there were demands that Raja resign, he retorted, “why should I resign? I had done everything in consultation with the PM”.

The PM did not deny that statement. But, months later, on May 24, 2010, the PM said that Raja had “discussed” the issue with him. Any difference between Raja asserting that he had “consulted” the PM and the PM admitting that Raja “discussed” with him? The story is self-evident. The PM’s objection in November 2007 turned into no-objection in January 2008 and finally became his approval in May 2010. But, now, with the CAG exposing the fraud, the PM’s lips remain zipped despite demands from everyone including the Supreme Court that he speaks. Why? Here is a compelling hypothesis.

Between November 2007 and January 2008, someone must have hinted to the PM not to meddle with Raja. There is no other way PM’s November objection could become a meek non-objection in January. Who except Sonia Gandhi could turn the PM’s strong objection into a meek non-objection? And who else could make the PM defend Raja in May 2010. Assume this, then everything falls in place; otherwise nothing is explainable.

Raja, Radia, media

But a parallel development also made the stench difficult to contain. The story here is both spicy and serious. The income tax department had legally tapped the telephone lines of Niira Radia, Delhi’s most enterprising PR executive, who holds the honourable Tata group, on the one hand and the fearsome RIL group on the other. Her nine telephones were tapped for about 180 days from August 20, 2008 and again from May 11, 2009 to July 11, 2009. On the request of the CBI, which began to probe the scam in October 2009, the IT department provided, on November 20, 2009, not the whole, but a small part of the recordings. This in itself has forced many politicians, businessmen and media stars run for cover.

There are 5,400 telephonic conversations involving Niira Radia reportedly recorded; available on the Internet are a mere 102, of which only 23 have been transcribed and printed. So one can estimate the bombs still hidden.

According to the IT department’s brief to the CBI, the transcripts reveal stunning facts like: one, Niira Radia was very close to Raja and was involved in getting 2G licences for three operators, namely, Unitech, Swan, and Datacom; two, Raja himself has equity stakes in the licences he has issued; three, Radia and Kanimozhi worked through Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Dutt, two famed journalists, for negotiating to get Raja in as telecom minister after the elections in 2009; four, Radia was also close to the auditor of Rajathi Ammal, (Karunanidhi’s second wife and Kanimozhi’s mother); five, Radia was also involved in advising on the resale of the licences by Swan and Unitech; and so on. It is a shameful account whose full details are not out yet.

The legally recorded phone conversations indicate that it was Radia who first confirmed to Raja on May 24, 2009 that his name has been cleared for the telecom ministry. Go to http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268064, and click for the tapes, you can hear Raja asking Radia: “My case is clear, yes?” and Radia replying: “Yours is clear, yeah. Your case was cleared last night only.” The tapes, running to over a hundred, of which only a small part is out in the open, are said to be both juicy and sensational. For instance Radia narrates to Vir Sanghvi on May 23, 2009, at past 10.26 pm about how Dayanidhi Maran was exerting pressure through Karunanidhi’s kin Stalin, Dayalu Ammal and Selvi to get into the Cabinet, and tells, “I believe that Maran has given about 600 crores to Dayalu, Stalin’s mother”. Interesting — and disturbing — isn’t it to hear particularly about sale of ministerial positions within the political family for hundreds of crores? Space constraints cut the shameful long story short for now; more on it later.

The loot is too huge for Raja. The main beneficiaries are obviously hiding behind him. Raja could never have defied the PM on the strength of the DMK alone. The DMK could never have ditched the UPA on this issue. The fear that the DMK would walk out of UPA could not be the reason for the PM to acquiesce. The fraudulent venture must have had the backing of someone more powerful than the PM. That only explains Raja’s defiance of the PM; and the PM acquiescence first and finally his defence of the deal itself.

QED: The PM has now lost the remaining sheen as ‘Mr Clean’. The condescending certificate of honesty from Sonia, who he had saved from the Bofors case, is his ultimate humiliation.

The 2G scam is said to be the biggest in human history. But our politicians starting from the Prime Minister right down are going about giving the same kind of reaction Action will be taken against the guilty stated the PM .But if the PM himself is under the scanner who is to take action and how are we to trust the PM? No matter how brave the Congress pretends there is no second opinion that it is the party with the biggest scams and corrupt to the core. Rahul Gandhi may hold out stating that with the quitting of A.Raja the Congress upheld strict traditions against corruption. The Congress was never known to take action on its own. It only covers up or tries to run for cover. This is clear from Quottrocchi down to 2G.scam The Union Minister for Law and Justice-Veerappa Moily describes the opposition as ‘urchins” This is going too far when his department is responsible in dragging its feet and in 2G scam.. The Opposition has every right to demand for a JPC. It is true that there is the PAC but it was always there and what happened to all the corruption cases? The 2G scam is not one which can be debated and satisfy the nation. Concrete action must be specified. The PM allowed the DMK ally to have its way. The allocation of the Ministry itself was wrong when Maran’s family had vested interest in Communications and IT. It is precisely for this that the DMK demanded that portfolio. Our ‘sensitive’ PM must have been aware of it. Similarly other portfolios were all allocated according to the demands of the DMK and the demands of the DMK were based on its craftiness to mine…from these. Now to try and absolve the PM is wrong because he may be a man of integrity and honesty but in this matter he yielded and turned a blind eye. What was his justification in putting party ally’s interest before the national interests? As an economist he would have gauged the enormity of the plunder and the loss to the nation yet he was silent. Why? Who forced the PM to this inaction? Can one then allow the PM to wash his hands like Pontius Pilate? Was he not obligated to stand by the nation and its interest? How can the people now simply run after others whom the PM allowed to have a free run of In this Veerappa Moily too has a role. His ministry should have been alert instead he goes about making allegations that the Opposition is running away from its responsibility. Who failed in upholding responsibility and duty? The hardest cut comes when he calls the DMK a most valued partner and that all the allegations against it is made by the AIADMK only for the latter’s survival in politics. Was not the submission by the Congress to the DMK of its pound of flesh in the portfolios business for survival of the Congress at the Centre? Would it be able to form the government had the DMK pulled out its support? In the final analysis the whole 2G scam was the making of the Congress to remain in power. By casting allegations on other political parties Veerappa Moily is like the pot calling the kettle black. Will our politicians and ministers never learn-never speak the truth, never uphold dharma? Are the allegations baseless? The Congress must clean its Aegean stables. It is not enough to defend the PM and keep issuing certificates of ‘sensitivity’, ‘highly proficient man’, ‘blemish less and unimpeachable’ etc. No body denies all this and the nation is not looking forward for the Congress’s certificates to the PM. It is under such a man that the most devastating and most sickening scam has taken place and that too right under his nose. Can someone explain why the PM whose personality is structured on such high values and learning allowed one of his Ministers a free run of the Ministry of Communications and IT to loot the nation? Does it make any sense? So what is the use of the Congressmen and women praising the PM while they used him and someone was able to blind him to his obligated duty-namely to put the nation first and to safeguard its interest? The more the praises heaped on the PM and his unimpeachable character upheld the more murkier and more strange it seems for such a person to fall into the trap of letting down the nation.- that the PM inspite of all these attributes had failed the nation is a fact. This is his dubious distinction now. The big question is WHY? Who is responsible for this? Who had misguided him? Let law take its course and the CBI drag its feet-in the meantime it will be most appropriate for the Congress men and women to mark their words and actions. It stands today exposed and a symbol of Corruption and Scams Let it not live in a glass house and throw stones at others. Had it not dislodged a government on the Jain Commission Report? Had it not stalled Parliament? Now to refer to the Opposition as “urchins” is most unbecoming of Veerappa Moily to say the least. Dr Mrs Hilda Raja, Vadodara

The 2G Spectrum scam stops at the Prime Minister’s desk. That the BJP is hypocritical and uses double standard in corruption is the argument of the Congress. This in reference to the allegations made against the CM-of Karnataka, de-notifying government lands and his sons becoming beneficiaries.. Is Yeddyurappa the Prime Minister of the country and is Karnataka India? What a comparison. Here the revelation of the letter written by Dayanidhi Maran the former minister for Communication and IT and the continuation of the PM’s succumbing to the DMK’s arm twisting during Raja’s tenure is four years old. The national interest has been sacrificed by the Prime Minister-he had given a blank check to Maran and A.Raja to fleece the exchequer. What does one call this? To bring in Yeddurappa on the same level is beyond one’s comprehension. Yeddurappa’s alleged nepotism, and corruption will not shake India but will shake the faith of the people of Karnataka in their CM. But the betrayal of the PM of the national interest of this country has shaken the faith of the whole of India. The sheen of integrity and honesty which Mr Manmohman Singh had painted himself with, has been washed off. All the time he had for the sake of power, for the love of the PM’s gaddi given in to the DMK. The request of Maran was totally unacceptable and yet the PM accepted the conditions. No interference in the Communication and IT ministry was what Maran requested the PM so readily accepted that. If this is not betrayal of the country then what is it.? Now the silence of the PM is eloquent. The Prime Minister cannot get away with this betrayal of national interest. How can one trust the PM with the nation’s security and citizens’ safety? It is but shocking that Mr Manmohan Singh was capable of stooping to such a level for power. The Prime Minister has not just abetted corruption and brought such colossal loss to the exchequer but he has actively participated in it. This is too much for the nation to accept when it is raining scams all over the country-here comes the PM also within the scanner et tu Brute? What would have been the alternative-to down right reject Dayanidhi Maran/A Raja’s request? The department of Communication and IT cannot become the private corporation of the DMK. It was already stated that the Marans is in the business of communication and IT and hence the ministry should not be given to the DMK. This is simple logic and probity in public life. The Prime Minister failed-failed miserably, in doing his duty and upholding his prerogative in selecting his council of ministers. Are the various ministries just channels to siphon off colossal amounts into private kitties, and fleece the nation? The refusal of the PM to toe the line of the DMK and to stand by his oath and obligation to the nation may have resulted in the DMK withdrawing its support. So what? The nation will realize the true color of the DMK and the extraction by it of the pound of flesh. Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh must realize that the public exchequer is not the Congress’s bank. It belongs to the nation-the blood and sweat of the hardworking citizens of this country. Both did not hesitate to yield to the ransom demanded by the DMK because both Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh were anxious to put the UPA2 government in place and sit in their respective power positions. Towards this both were prepared to sacrifice the nation’s interest. This is dangerous trend-because the UPA then would sacrifice even the country. We see in the unfolding of events the same kind of betrayal of the country and its sovereignty. No action against secessionists-no action against terrorists (except exchange of dossiers),no action against Afzal Guru and Kasab, no action against J&K Azadi rallyists who burned the national flag and shouted anti-India slogans, no action against China when it started building a dam across Bharamaputra, the list goes on. Now with this 2G Spectrum scam all the other scams fall in place. The whole lot of the UPA 2 government and governance is corrupt.. The whole UPA is stinking and sinking- it has failed on all fronts- there is no national interest to safe guarding the territorial boundaries, -safeguarding the citizens’ security, in these it has failed. A class of politicians submerged in corruption and scams-is what we see. The biggest scam in Independent India has the Prime Minister’s seal on it. No wonder his silence and no wonder the Supreme Court has requested the PM to reply The Congress in general and the PM in particular was hurt by the remarks of the Opposition that the PM is weak. This 2G Spectrum scam goes to prove that he is more than weak. He buckled to the DMK simply because he wanted to be please Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Now the drama of renunciation is becoming clearer. Mrs Sonia Gandhi handpicked Manmohan Singh because she knew his weakness and because she knew that he will be a willing puppet. Why had she not chosen Pranab Mukherjee? The nation cannot go on with Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister and the UPA 2 in power- the 2G spectrum is the Bofors of the UPA2. The least the PM can do now is to lay down his office without becoming a victim to his anxiety to sit tight in the gaddi.and FIRs must be filed against ARaja and Maran Dr Mrs Hilda Raja Vadodara

One cannot and should not absolve the Prime Minister and Mrs Sona Gandhi from the scams and the corruption. In fact had they been a bit more concerned of the nation these scams would not have erupted. Today the Congress has the pride of place for corruption. Mrs Sonia Raj is scam Raj and who abetted this- Manmohan Singh-our honest PM who collected a good conduct certificate from Mr Bush and whose back Obama patted many a time. All this when he turned a blind eye to what was happening and the economist in him knew very well what the was the total loss to the exchequer due to Raja’s maladministration.

There was already objection to portfolios distribution. Objections were raised and in the initial stage even the PM was not in favor of giving the Communications and IT to the DMK. What happened to that initial reluctance? Who pulled strings? Can this be called coalition ‘dharma’? Let us not make a mockery of dharma. The DMK may be an ally but what kind of an ally. It wanted its pound of flesh and Mrs Sonia Gandhi was prepared to give it because she wanted power-So the whole nexus of power and pelf revolved round Mrs Sonia Gandhi.Now one can understand why the renunciation drama. Only the bouquets for her and the brickbats for the others.

As the Time of India editorial (16th Nov) stated’ Communication and IT are vital tools of empowerment and growth, and deserve to be in the hands of a capable minister” I would emphasis that it must be in the hands of one who is and cannot be corrupted. And even now the headlines of the media emphasis that Sibal gets Raja’s ministry for now. What does that mean? The DMK is corrupt and that’s exactly why it wanted Communications and IT. Knowing this well Mrs Sonia Gandhi yielded. She is the de facto PM .It is a public secret that the PM was unable to pick his own council of ministers. One wonders why Mr Manmohan Singh accepted to continue under such conditions. What was the compulsion for him to mortgage his integrity and self respect and in the process bypass constitutional norms? The PM is answerable to the country. He cannot pretend that everything is fine with his functioning. If he has a conscience he will know that nothing was right from day one when he was handpicked by Mrs Sonia Gandhi

And now we have Rahul Gandhi who transverses across the non-congress governed States to hold forth on who won Independence and recruit youth. He never uttered a word on corruption. Today when the Congress was compelled and forced by the Opposition to drop A.Raja the great youth leader and the PM in waiting holds forth that ‘the UPA government taking strong action against corruption’. What does he mean? It had to be forced-Parliament had to be stalled and yet the UPA’s strong action is contained only with A.Raja resigning? What about the next step? Why fight shy of a JPC? After all Raja is innocent as he and this party the DMK claims then the JCP will only confirm his innocence. Or have we come to a stage when wrong is right and when corruption is simply a way of governance? Is this not the UPA which kept Sibu Soren as a cabinet minister who went underground when the CBI was hunting for him and the PM had the temerity to state in Parliament that he does not know where his cabinet colleague was!

The problem with the PM is that he is most of the time out of the loop and when he is in the loop it is disastrous too. Rahul Gandhi does not realize what he mouths. Most of the time he is fed information and other inputs by his backroom boys and the other times he just cannot vibe with India. He has no sense of Indian history. This is the candidate the PM presented as most suitable to be the next PM. Till such a time Manmohan Singh will keep the PM’s chair warm. How very sensitive Manmohan Singh is to democracy? Is this a musical chair game Mr Prime Minister?

What a shame on you-on one side you are acclaimed as a great economist on the other side you abet and promoted corruption by presiding over scam esters and corrupt personnel. Every thread in the fabric of the polity under Manmohan Singh the de-jure PM and Mrs Sonia Gandhi the de-facto PM and the -extra constitutional power has been stained and shredded by corruption. Congress-stands for corruption- and Sonia Raj for scam raj.

It is not too late for the Prime Minister to come out courageously from the prison of his own making. He is under oath to perform without fear or favor-he owes this to the nation and redeem the nation from the mire of corruption. If the PM is still unable to take strong action then the least he could do is to step down.

The article ‘an empress of India in new clothes” by John Maclinton (http:expressbuzz.com)Nov 12 brought out the simple fact that the new clothes of the empress Mrs Sonai Gandhi no more are protective cover for her. Mrs Sonia Gandhi has come a long way donning on these clothes but is being exposed in her autocratic, dictatorial style of functioning. The problem is that she and her son thinks that others should change but not they.

Apart from the massive and extensive corruption she has abetted –yes she has abetted because as the author says most of the corrupt money goes not into the individuals’ pockets -only a fraction goes, the rest goes into the confers of the Congress party to buy MPs to topple non-Congress governments. I agree fully with John Maclinton’s perception when he states that “ her governors shamelessly hijack democracy by twisting the law” But then is there democracy in India? If there was, then Mrs Sonia cannot dictate from No 10 Janpath. From day one with her (in) famous renunciation she has steadily subsumed every democratic institution and bypassed every constitutional norm.

This according to me is the greatest stab Mrs Sonia Gandhi inflicted on the Indian polity. By handpicking the Prime Minister-she set a precedent of anti- democratic function. Again she handpicked the President of India. This was so evident when in public she stood holding the hands of the President .Who is Mrs Sonia Gandhi?

She is the President of the Congress Party and an MP nothing more and nothing less- that does not make her the extra-Constitutional Prime Minister of India. She has belittled the Constitution and even bypassed Parliament with her National Advisory Council. Another jumbo Parliament of Mrs Sonia Gandhi who presides over it. This is her lobby-her extended coterie and her sycophants all rolled in one. Whom are they advising? The NAC is supposed to advise Mrs Sonia Gandhi and that becomes obligatory on the PM to follow up that advice. Then what is the Parliament for? Why should schemes be discussed and debated in the NAC and then directed to the GOI for implementation? We could as well wind up the Council of Ministers because most of the time they are dispowered and occasionally a few are selected to act as Group of empowered Ministers. One should think that the Council of Ministers advises the PM.Mrs Sonia Gandhi as the Presdient of the Congress party can forward her views. But here it is just the other way round. The PMO must even heed to the suggestions of Rahul Gandhi who can walk in at any time and tell the PM to extend the NREGS all over the country. But then why is the PM so submissive? That is because he was handpicked and he is ever mindful of that.

With Parliament a mere forum when MPs occasional debate and create ruckus the NAC acts as the extra constitutional Parliament. It is no small wonder that chief ministers rush to No 10 Janpath and not to the North Block.Because it is the writ of Mrs Sonia Gandhi which runs….but how long?It seems to me that the steam is already vaporizing into a vacuum

Her power period has seen the maximum scams and has brought out the vocal skills of the Congress spokespersons. The Congress party is the Defender of the Corrupt and its spokepersons are so very skilled in shouting down the views of others and in defending the corruption. One should think that Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s number one achievement is this-the SCAMS-Never in Independent India had every dimension of the polity been submergedin scams. This goes to the credit of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the prime Minister.It is now accepted reality-that without scams no governance-without scams no schemes and no mega programs. Since the CBI is ineffective and become effective only when Mrs Sonia Gandhi wants the Opposition to be kept at bay .Hence as John MacLinthon very aptly points out the CBI allowed Quattrocchi to flee with his loot and the PM has only to tell the nation that he was out of the loop. Now A.Raja the Tele Com minister brazenly challenges India-the PM and asserts that the latter was in the loop. Yet the Congress is hesitant to take action. It is the prerogative of the PM to drop A.Raja. No, the Congress is waiting for the DMK to act!

One is stunned at the cool indifference of the UPA in the face of such ignominy in the ruthless plunder of the people. It does not bother Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her party .What they think is necessary in the face of scams is to field spokespersons who can shout down sense and logic with their senseless and illogic. Or point at the NDA’s omissions. How does the NDA’s blunders and sins justify the enormous scams of the Congress and the unprecedented loot by A.Raja?. The kind of fleecing of Indian poor has surpassed all the loot of the foreign invaders. The Indian political class are the looters-the loot then is stashed in tax havens. Had the Central Investigation machinery and the CBI been effective, honest and alert surely such shameless plunder would not have taken place.

If A.Raja looted India-it is because he is following the policy set by the NDA. Let’s grant this hypothetically-so if the NDA looted India that means the Congress and its allies are justified in looting India. The chief minister of Tamilnadu says so. Poor A Raja has not faulted-he is innocent. To whom are these people putting forth all these cock and bull stories? What is shocking is the way the UPA is going all out to protect the corrupt A.Raja and the massive corruption. Then it means there is something more than eye can see. Is this coalition dharma to hide corruption-to give refuge to the corrupt and to allow India’s poor to be fleeced and even robbed of their crumbs? All this because Mrs Sonia Gandhi wants to be in power at all cost. Why should India pay such a heavy price to keep her in power? In the whole scenario of scams and A.Raja’s loot/plunder what comes through is the Congress as great skilful defender of the corrupt and its national spokespersons (Manish Tiwari and Jayanthi Natarajan) as crafty advocates/defenders of corruption. If there is a Nobel Prize to be awarded on corruption and craftiness the Congress can walk away with it.

I fully agree with John MacLinthon when he puts forth that “Most Westerners, who come here, still think they are here to ‘give’ something to a country, which, unconsciously of course, they think is lesser than theirs. It was true of the British, it was true of Mother Teresa, and it is true of Sonia Gandhi”. This is exactly why Mrs Sonia Gandhi with her NAC patronizes India’s poor. She thinks that she alone can deliver which has been proven wrong.

This was the reason why her great ‘renunciation’ has been dramatized by her sycophants. She has carefully scripted the drama to be enacted. The Latin spiritual writers used to refer to those who renounce the world and all its blandishments to dedicate themselves to God-those great renunciators-as those ‘nihil possidentes,sed omnia habentes(who own nothing, but have everything).But then as time went on as this so called renunciation became a mockery the definition referred to their public proclamation of their austerity, but private enjoyment of the pelf of the world. When it comes to Mrs Sonia Gandhi-the empress in new clothes it is worse-She puts on a mask as the great savior and the champion of the poor while all the time enjoys all the comforts at the cost of the Indian taxpayer and the poor. What does one call this? No country in the world would tolerate this deception and no country in the world would succumb to such distortions of reality-by such a ‘renuniciator’.It is time for the one billion people to raise their voices and to act.

According to the reply given under RTI Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s official residence 10 Janpath has consumed electricity worth more than Rs seven lakhs in the last 3 years. Of this she had to pay only a paltry sum of 9 thousand for three years and the rest was paid by the Lok Sabha Secretariat-which means the tax payers have footed her bill.

Poor Mrs Sonia Gandhi-the most powerful woman in the world uses only 7.47 lakhs rupees worth of electricity power for three years. We should not grudge her that! The most powerful woman in the world’s residence consumes 7.47 lakh worth of power. That’s peanuts, because she pays only 9 thousand rupees when ordinary person like me pay more than 15 thousand rupees for electricity per year. Poor Sonia Gandhi-her renunciation is apparent. She has no money, no house, no water connection, no phone connections but manages to keep the country under her control. Is that not a miracle? The Pope has already made a note of it and will soon canonize her-the miracle maker for the Indian poor. And her sycophants fall before her and remain adhered in that prostrate posture till their number comes up in her lottery box shake for fixing their positions. ‘Now that you have reposed faith in me be patient’. I am the Empress and Empresses do not follow a time bound plan but acts on their whims and fancies.

Need to pity Sonia Gandhi she has no bank balance and in her affidavit stated that she borrowed money from her daughter. So where does that lead us to-a secret pact-a secret chamber all in the name of renunciation? Her renunciation has cost the nation in crores. And as for her it cost nothing.

She comes under the General pool-what does that mean? As a MP she should come only under the MP’s pool and all her bills above the allowed ceiling must be paid by her or her party. How does the accommodation of Mrs Sonia Gandhi come under the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Urban Development? She is answerable to the people for whom she is championing Food security. A pittance of a 100 days work per household and that has been claimed as the most effective and extensive anti hunger program in the world. But a close analysis will reveal that it means hardly 20 days of work for a household of five members. This is one of her magic wands by which her son claims that the Congress under his mother’s leadership is pro-poor and the rest of the non Congress governments are anti-poor. It is this amount that he claims of ‘we’ having given for the upliftment of the poor” Who is this ‘we’. Is it the Congress Party money? They enjoy all the luxuries of life at the cost of the people’s hard earned money. Then they throw crumbs again from the taxpayers’ monies and claim that the Congress-especially Mrs Sonia Gandhi is pro-poor. We have to believe it. The Congressmen and women are glued to the ground in prostration and hence cannot see, cannot hear or don’t want to but waits for the magic number to be announced by Mrs Sonia Gandhi. What a ridiculous position and we call this democracy.

Now to get back to the no water, no phone, no car, no bank balance and this renunciator-champion of the poor has already been ticked by the Pope, it is only a matter of time when Vatican will canonize her. This will be a special case where canonization will be affected during the life time of the person.

Whom is Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her coterie trying to hoodwink? How long is this drama going to be enacted? Crumbs for the people and the cake for me-a little primary health centre for the people but the best medical services for me, pavements for the people but No 10 Janpath worth 300 crores for me-and that too for nothing. No electricity for the people but a 7.47 lakh worth of consumption of electricity for me, for the no house person, this and more and the drama goes on.

Awake and Arise and make Mrs Sonia Gandhi accountable for the loot of the money of the poor-closely and secretively channelised through the various government departments. St Sonia Gandhi and all devotees must stand in the people’s court and be made answerable for the squandering of the Poor’s money-the sweat and blood of people of this nation.